Financial planning for parents-to-be: budgeting for your baby

Wow! You’re expecting a baby!  It’s easy to get carried away with the excitement, planning your ideal nursery and shopping for gorgeous outfits.  But before you go mad, it’s a good idea to take a step back and work out what you can and can’t afford, so you don’t start your new life as a parent with a headache of debt. 

There’s no getting away from it: babies are expensive.  There’s not only all the equipment they need – and they need a lot of equipment – plus an extra mouth to feed, there’s also the prospect of financing these increased costs on a potentially reduced income.  If you are planning on taking extended maternity or paternity pay, or reducing your working hours so you can have more time with your baby, you are likely to have to pay more attention to your household budget than you did previously.  Plus long-term planning may become more of a priority for you: making sure you have financial measures in place should the worst happen is crucial when you have dependents. 

All of this means that good financial planning is essential for expectant mums and dads.  And the starting point for this is to work out what you can afford. 

Here is a guide to the likely costs of your baby’s first year:

ITEM	BUDGET	LUXURY
Moses basket/crib	£60	£360
Cot	£95	£700
Nursery furniture	£100	£1,000
Buggy	£80	£600
Baby car seat	£80	£220
Child car seat (Stage 2 seat)	£100	£300
Other equipment	£105	£660
Clothing	£465	£2,000
Nappies	£330	£460
Milk	£50 (breast only)	£450 (bottle)
Food	£100 (homemade only)	£520 (bought only)

You can get an instant total by entering your budget figures in this online calculator.

Working out a budget – and sticking to it! – is a great move to make sure that you get your life as a new family off to a secure financial start.  But look out for my other tips on planning for your family’s long-term financial future to make sure your loved ones are provided for, no matter what the future holds.

For expert financialplanning advice, call Graham on 07740 192505 or email gkinns@coreifa.co.uk to book a no-obligation consultation at our expense